Cadillac, which ranked fourth, was the only American brand to crack the top 10. Lexus, Jaguar and Porsche topped the General Motors Co. luxury brand, and Honda rounded out the top five; followed by Acura, Infiniti, Toyota, Mercedes-Benz and BMW.

“Lexus stayed the same as last year, but their lead was so significant compared to last year, they managed to hold on to the No. 1 spot,” David Sargent, vice president of global vehicle research at J.D. Power, said during an Automotive Press Association meeting today at the Detroit Athletic Club. Lexus ranked 73.

Overall initial quality for the industry improved by five problems per 100 vehicles to an average of 102 PP100 -- an improvement of 5 percent from 2011. Fifteen brands were above the industry’s average, up from 10 brands last year.

Out of the 34 brands ranked in the 2012 study, 26 improved from 2011, five declined, one (Lexus) scored the same and two -- Fiat and Smart -- were not included in the 2011 study.

Eleven of the brands in the survey were domestic. Five ranked in the top half of the survey.

"Our biggest motivation is the recognition of quality from people who buy our cars and trucks," said Alicia Boler-Davis, vice president of global quality and U.S. vice president of customer experience in a statement. "We are listening to them and know we have more work to do to improve across our entire vehicle portfolio to provide the best overall ownership experience."

Toyota Motor Corp., with five awards, was the only automaker to win more awards than GM.

Chrysler

Chrysler made gains over last year, but its namesake brand slid slightly from a 110 ranking on the list to 116. Excluding Fiat, which wasn’t on the survey last year, the Auburn Hills-based automakers other brands performed quite well compared to last year.

The Dodge brand was the only American brand besides GM’s to perform better than the industry average – coming in at No. 14, one ahead of Chevrolet.

Sargent said the Jeep Grand Cherokee and Dodge Charger significantly improving from the 2011 model year helped Chrysler’s overall performance.

Fiat, according to Sargent, tied for worst on the study because the essential design of its only U.S. name plate, the Fiat 500, is a small car essentially not designed for the U.S. market.

“We often see this with a vehicle that is essentially originally designed for another market.” he said. “Some of the functionality on the interior is quite not what they were expecting.”

Ford

Ford brands -- Ford and Lincoln -- continue to be plagued by technology issues, according to Sargent.

While Lincoln improved slightly to 107 PP100, the Dearborn-based automaker’s namesake brand, which was ranked fifth two years ago, is ranked 27th of the 32 brands in the survey.

“Ford fell by a couple of points.” The MyFord Touch system has been problematic and Ford will readily accept that.”

Ford has introduced software packages to fix both issues, but the solutions were rolled out too late for J.D. Power’s study.

Sargent said the update “is a whole lot better than the previous system,” but the automaker does have a way to go to get to back near the top of the study.

According to the study, owners reported more problems related to audio, entertainment, and navigation systems than in any other vehicle area.

The 2012 U.S. Initial Quality Study is based on responses from more than 74,000 purchasers and lessees of new 2012 model-year cars, trucks and multi-activity vehicles surveyed after 90 days of ownership.